Ground inserted cemetery vase



Jan. 22, 1952 L. E. MAGERs GROUND INSERTED CEMETERY VASE lFiled April l, 1949 Patented Jan. 22, 1952 l V-Thisz-invention'.relatesto a vase. and more parfticuflarly to `a fcom'bined marker and container which retains water when opened, is self-,drain- `ing `when f closed, Yfand-is leasily drilled into the aground to 'display and -i'm'oisten Vflowers 'andf the like 'in' ycemeteries-lawns, and thev like.

eHeretofore, vases used' in cemeteries Vhave been subject to certain disadvantages. For example, -loose vasesrare -easily `lost or broken, and?" are 'unsightly when',` empty. Partially buried .orb anchored *vases are i notl particularly advantageous wevenv fwhen buriedsubstantially flush with 1 the ground llevel; .because theyfwill retain waterwhich "will: become stagnant` inY warm weather and will freeze in coldweather;thereby'` cracking the vase. Fur-ther, ex'pansion'of the `ground due". to frost 1willloosenand raise the'vase. Sincesuch par- 'tially1"buried vases could onlyy be drainedfby're- Smovallfrom-the ground, and 'since winter frost "has'a raising -effect thereon, theyfsoony become -flocselyfanchored Sand lose theirv statuslas a per- '1 manent. fixture.

`Theaforementioned disadvantages will :be more .A frequently encountered inthe future in thev use of 'the' vases-'heretofore' known in thefart insofarzas' it is the present-trend in cemetery man- `agement to dispense with monuments,-above the ground receptacles erstands, andthe like, thus Y `making it necessaryftomore frequently use flower vases orreceptacles which may 1 be imbedded in the= ground 1with:the' top flushwith the top fof atheearth.

fItf-isffa feature oftheinstant invention to pro- =videfa permanentgrave marker vase which com- ".prfises a metallic tube-of brass or other mate- :lrial which vwill i resistdeterioration due f to `the natural moisture and mineral ycontent'invthe `lground. `One end of the tube is preferably toothed to facilitate boringfa hole in the ground Afor inserting the tube.

across they tube intermediate thei-ends thereof and this plate-has a drain hole therethrough. The plate `is preferably inclined to facilitate drainage to the drain hole. The open Ytop end Vof the :tube carries afhinged cover composed of -heavy 'castv bronze or-the llike weather-resisting lmaterial, arranged to receive an engraved idenvtiiicationor markerplate on thetop thereof. A lvalveispbsitioned under the disk to close the drain opening thereinand a rodextends through this opening to the top of the tube where it passes lthrougha guide bracket. The plate divides the Ytube into a top waterV compartment and an openbottomed drain compartment which not only receives water from the y topcompartment but A disk plate is welded f 5c1aims. (C1. 47-41) yalso'.isadapted to receive earth the eventof frostfexpansion"thereby preventing frostjraising of the tube outofwthe'ground.

A coil spring urges themed-upwardly to seat vthe valve'aga-instthe drainl opening inthe'fbotmtomfof the plate, thereby'closingthe same. When -the'cover is opened, -the'valve' will be closedand the-'tube' can be filled withfwaterfor sustaining the life Aof cut'iiowers. When-the cover is clos'ed,

trapment of foreign' materialrbetween the drain hole and-ithelvalve head.

`The tubefis inserted in the groundso thatrtlie cover, when closed, will be substantiallyfflush ywith'the surrounding earth or cutY grassflevel,

permitting.` grass mowing machines and theflike Ato pass freely thereover.

InV closed position of the cover; theengraved identification plateI securedfto the' top 'surfaceof the cover will'vlze in an easily readable substantially' horizontal: position, while' inl the lopen 'position' -of 'thecover fthe plate lwill --be in lan easily readablevsubstantially lvertical position.

yiccordhigly,itfis an object of ithis invention to provide an improved flower vase andsg-ra've marker.

LeAnotherffobject of1-this=inventioni'is tolprovide fa flower fva'se `V`which may 1 be inserted in the Y ground and left inzsuch-aposition the year round `without appreciable?. deterioration.

` Another 'object of thisf invention is* towprovide 'aflower'4 vasefwhich-:lei-ids itself to be easily in- 1 serted ini' the: ground and which--providesfselectively ioperable' 'draining facilitiesV for I'the -water within the vase.

Another important object of this invention; is

l to' provide -`a flowerl vase which may be 4`permanentlyfinsertedin the ground having its top iiush with `thelearth and havinga cover that will :serve as, yanidentification markerfc-r' thef'plct.

lowing detailed description of the annexed sheet of drawings which, by way of preferred example only, illustrates one specific embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, showing the cover in closed position, of a vase having the features of this invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vase of Figure 1 taken substantially along line II`II of Figure 1,'and which shows the cover in closed position with the valve unseated to drain the water chamber of the vase; r Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2, but showing the cover in open position with the valve seated to close the drain hole so that the upper chamber of the vase may receive cut flowers and water; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal crosssectional view taken substantially as indicated by the line IV-IV on Figure 3 and which shows the valve rod in cross-section and the perforated strainer plate over the drain hole.

As shown on the drawing:

In the various gures on the drawing, numeral I indicates generally a vase constructed in accordance with this invention. Tube I2 of brass or other water and mineral resistant metal, which may be readily and economically formed in a drawing or forming process, comprises a casing for the vase I0. One end of the open ended tube I2 preferably has the integrally formed teeth I2a which greatly facilitate the digging or boring of a hole in the soil for the insertion of the vase I0. As shown in Figure 2, a pair of diametrically opposite teeth I2a can be lanced and bent outwardly as at I2a to form locking tangs which will better anchor the vase in the ground. Y

An inclined disk plate I4 is welded to the inner surface of the tube I2 at a location I2b near the mid-section of the tube I2. This plate, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, is inclined or pitched toward a drain hole |40l in the plate. The top of tube I2 is closed by cover I6. The cover I6 has a bifurcated hinge portion I 6a with an aperture therethrough to accommodate a hinge pin I8 which is carried by a lug 20 secured as by rivets 22 to the tube I2 adjacent the top end thereof.

Figure 2 shows the cover I6 in closed position and Figure 3 shows the cover I6 in open position. It will be noted that cover I6 has an annular seat IIib which seats on the top end of the tube I2. It

will be further noted that the cover opens in z alligator fashion about the axis of the hinge pin I8. The cover I6 in open position rests with the top surface adjacent the projection a on the lug 2D. The cover IS has a weighted portion I6c remote from the hinge pin I8 so as to maintain the cover I6 in closed position due to its weight.

An appropriately engraved identication plate 24 (Figure 1) may be secured to the curved top of the cover as by screws or rivets 26. The identii'lcation plate 24 is preferably inserted within a recess I6d on the top surface of the cover I6 so that the top of the identification plate will be flush with the top surface of the cover.

'I'he drain hole or aperture I4a in the plate I2 is selectively opened or closed by a spring biased valve 28 of rubber or other resilient material. A valve rod or arm 38 protrudes upwardly from the valve 28 which in closed position seats on the under surface of the disk plate I4 closing the aperture I4a. The valve rod 30 is supported and Cil guided in upright position by a guide bracket 32 which slidably embraces the rod 38 at a point remote from the valve 28. The bracket 32 is secured to the inner surface of the tube I2 by the same rivets 22 which secure the hinge lug 20. A compression spring 34 loosely embraces the rod 30 and is bottomed on the bracket 32. A cotter pin 34 is inserted through a suitable opening in the valve rod 30 adjacent the top end thereof to arrest free expansion of the spring 34.

A protuberance I6e of the cover I6 extends downwardly when the cover I6 is closed and strikes the top of the valve rod 38 to shift the valve rod and valve 28 downwardly so as to unseat the valve 28 from the drain opening I4a in the disk plate I4. As seen in Figure 2, this further compresses the spring 34 between the bracket 32 and the cotter pin 36, and this compression is easily accommodated by the weight of the cover I6 with the aid of the added weighted cover portion I6c acting through a long lever arm from a fulcrum about the axis of the hinge pin I8.

The disk plate I4 is preferably normal to the axis of the valve rod 30 so that the rubber or plastic valve head 28 will have a circular ring seating contact with the rim of the drain hole I4a.

When the cover I6 is opened, load on top of the guide rod 30 is released, allowing the spring 34 to expand against the cotter pin 36 moving the guide rod 30 axially upwardly so that the valve 28 closes the drain aperture I4a in disk plate I4, as shown in Figure 3. A strainer disk 38 is loosely disposed on the rod 3U above the plate I4. This disk 38 has perforations 38a therethrough and when the cover I6 is in closed position, as shown in Figure 2, and the valve 28 is unseated, the rod 3U guides the disk to rest over the drain opening I4a. The perforations 38a then permit water to drain therethrough into the cavity Ibelow the plate I4. When the cover is opened and the valve 28 is moved upwardly to seat against and close the drain opening I4a, the valve will raise the disk sieve 38 off of the plate I4 so that any stems or other debris extending partly through the disk will not interfere wit a full seating of the valve.

From the foregoing description it is to be understood that I have a vase of metallic structure having a partitioned tube-like casing, the lower end of which is toothed to facilitate the digging or boring a hole in the soil for inserting the vase. As illustrated in Figure 2, the case in inserted in the ground with the top end of the tube being substantially flush with the top of the earth, the part of the tube below the partition being free of soil to accommodate water from the top compartment as well as expanding earth from beneath the tube which might otherwise tend to raise the tube. The cover of the vase may be opened and in so doing the partition is sealed so that the upper section of the tube may act as a vessel to receive water and cut flowers. When i the flowers are removed, it is not necessary to remove the vase from the ground to empty the water therefrom. It is only necessary that the cover be closed and by so doing the drain opening in the partition is uncovered so that water may drain from the vessel part of the tube into the soil at the bottom of the lower end of the tube. The covered vase so left in the ground provides an identication marker for a cemetery plot or the like.

It will be further understood that various details of construction may be varied through a Wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A receptacle of the type` suitable to be permanently inserted in soil comprising an open ended casing having teeth on the bottom end thereof, a hinged cover for the top of said casing, an apertured partition member spaced between said open ends of said casing and dividing the casing into top and bottom compartments, means on said casing dening a valve guide, valve means disposed in said casing for selectively opening or closing the aperture in said partition member, said valve means being associated with the valve guide to accommodate opening and closing movements of said valve means, and i ended casing, a cover member hinged to said casl ing for closing one end thereof, an apertured partition member traversing said casing intermediate the length thereof, resiliently urged valve means disposed in said casing for selectively opening or closing said aperture, means on said casing defining a guide bracket, a valve rod shiftably embraced by said bracket and actuated by said cover to open the valve when the cover is closed.

3. A receptacle suitable to be permanently inserted in soil comprising an open ended tube. a cover hinged on one end of the tube to selectively close said end, a plurality of teeth on the other end of the tube, a partition member transversely secured to said casing in spaced relation to the ends thereof, said partition member having a drain port therein, a plug beneath said member for controlling said port, a rod extending Vfrom said plug to the top of the tube, resilient means urging said rod to move the plug against the port, said cover having a depending lug for actuating said rod to open the port when said cover is closed. a perforated plate on said rod above said member for overlying said port when the port is open, and means for lifting the plate off of the member when the port is closed to insure full seating of the plug in the port.

e. A vase suitable to be permanently inserted in soil comprising an open ended casing, a cover member hinged to said casing for closing the top end thereof, a plurality of teeth on the bottom of the casing to facilitate the digging of a suitable hole in the soil, an apertured partition member transversely disposed in said casing in spaced relation to said ends, a check valve for selectively opening or closing said aperture, resilient means urging said valve to said closed position, means on said cover dening a striker for urging said valve to open position when said cover is closed, means on said cover defining a weighted lever for maintaining said cover in said closed position and said valve in said open position, a sieve dening water passages therethrough for covering said aperture when said valve is in open position, and means on said cover for accommodating an identification plate on the top surface thereof.

5. A cemetery grave marker and vase comprising a cylindrical casing having top and bottom compartments conected by a drain port, said bottom compartment having an open bottom, a heavy cover pivoted on the top end of the casing, marker means on the top of the cover, a spring loaded valve controlling the drain port, valve guide means secured to said casing, and a valve actuator cooperating with said valve guide means and adapted to be depressed by closing movement of the cover to open the valve.

LLOYD E. MAGERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

